More than just doing the job

Published: Thursday, October 17, 2013 at 03:24 PM.

“I ain’t no hero. I was just doing my job.”

And so a story in today’s Times-News closes. The words are those of Michael “Mick” Wheeley, a mail carrier in Graham with 32 years of experience with the United States Postal Service. And while Wheeley didn’t dodge mortar fire or enter a burning building, his recent actions to save an older resident on his route are the true measure of a hero nonetheless.

And a very modest one, to boot.

Wheeley took action recently when he started to notice the mail piling up at one stop on his route. It’s a small thing, but a very large one. He took a step not many these days seem willing to do.

With six packages at the door, Wheeley decided to knock on the door. He heard a noise inside and tried the door, which was unlocked. He found a man recovering from a recent stroke who was trapped in the chair by the limitations of his body. His caregiver had been gone for three days. He had no food and almost no water.

And so a story in today’s Times-News closes. The words are those of Michael “Mick” Wheeley, a mail carrier in Graham with 32 years of experience with the United States Postal Service. And while Wheeley didn’t dodge mortar fire or enter a burning building, his recent actions to save an older resident on his route are the true measure of a hero nonetheless.

And a very modest one, to boot.

Wheeley took action recently when he started to notice the mail piling up at one stop on his route. It’s a small thing, but a very large one. He took a step not many these days seem willing to do.

With six packages at the door, Wheeley decided to knock on the door. He heard a noise inside and tried the door, which was unlocked. He found a man recovering from a recent stroke who was trapped in the chair by the limitations of his body. His caregiver had been gone for three days. He had no food and almost no water.

Then Wheeley stepped in, called for help and got the man a drink.

A small thing, but a very large one.

Wheeley says postal carriers do this kind of thing more often than the public realizes. Those who walk routes often find people who have fallen or who are incapacitated in some way and find ways to help them out. It’s good news for communities in America that postal carriers are taking on such a responsibility at a time in our nation when it seems far fewer people are paying attention to people and events around them. We are a rushed culture tethered to smartphones or other digital devices as we bounce from one previously assigned destination to another.

Watching out for neighbors — a small thing but a very large one — seems pretty far removed from our daily consciousness.

So today we stop and salute Mick Wheeley and his colleagues with the USPS for taking on this important role in our society. And we encourage others who see things that are a little off in their neighborhoods, to do more than file the information away for discussion later. With our national leaders hopelessly out of touch — or so it seems — and a nonstop cycle of information pelting us from all corners, it’s too easy to get bogged down and forget about things of greater consequence.

Mick Wheeley may believe he was just doing his job. But truly, looking out for each other in small ways here or there is a job we all should share.